Without each other
by Dutch-Nessie
Summary: Victor and Anita are happily married, but there are some dark clouds coming their way. Will they be able to go through this storm together or will the wind blow them apart?
1. Chapter 1

Well, this is my first story here on .  
First things first, '**The Secret Show' only belongs to Tony Collingwood and the BBC.**  
There is just one person who belongs to me, but you will meet her soon.

All I can say is that I hope you enjoy the story.

Hugs'n'Kisses

Nessie

* * *

Anita looked out of the window. It was far past dinner time, but Victor wasn't home. Anita sighed and she stroke over her stomach, which developed into a nervous tick after some time. Normally, Victor would be home far before dinner time.

Anita turned around and she walked to the dinner table. It was all set for a romantic dinner for two, complete with burning candles and romantic music on the background. _And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse_, Anita thought. She didn't feel well the last weeks and Victor wanted her to stay home. To be honest, she felt even worse than just not well. Throwing up every day and feeling a little bit dizzy. When she went to the doctor that day, she had the feeling everything would be alright soon. And that would be the thing if Victor would be home on time.

Suddenly, the door when open and Anita rushed to the front door. "Finally, Victor!" she said and she looked to him. "Why didn't you come home earlier?"

"I'm sorry Anita, but Professor Professor needed me for some inventions." Victor gave Anita a hug and gave her a kiss on her lips. "I know I should have called you, but Professor Professor's device made my telephone disappear. I'm really sorry that I'm late." Victor kissed Anita passionately and Anita smiled.

"Come Victor, save it for later." Anita whispered and she pushed Victor softly away from her. "Dinner is getting colder now."

Victor smiled and he placed an arm around her waist. "What did you make for dinner?" he whispered in her ear.

"Something really special." Anita whispered back and she made herself loose from Victor's grip. She gave him a big smile as she sat down on her chair.

"It looks beautiful, Anita." Victor said when he sat down on the opposite side of the table. "If I knew that you would do this, I would tell Professor Professor that you needed me."

Anita smiled. "It's alright." she whispered and they started to eat.

"Anita," suddenly sounded and Anita looked to Victor. "Did I tell you that I love you?"

Anita chuckled. "At least a thousand times." she said.

"Then I'll say it for the thousand-and-first time: I love you." Victor gave her a little smile and Anita laughed. This was Victor's way of making things alright and Victor knew that his wife loved it every time they had this little talk. The smallest things in life made Anita Volt happy and Victor knew that. They were married for a little bit longer than a year now and they were still enjoying life as it was.

After they finished their dinner and they cleared the table, Victor and Anita both sat down on the couch. Victor placed an arm around Anita's shoulder and he gave her a kiss in the back of her neck.

"Hm, Victor, there is something I need to tell you."

"That you can't wait to get into bed?" said Victor with a big smile and his lips went further down her neck.

"Yes, no, something more important and cut it out." laughed Anita and she pushed Victor a little bit away. "It's something serious."

"What is it?" Victor started to sound worried and he remembered that Anita went to the doctor that morning. "What did the doctor say?"

"Victor," Anita looked into Victor's eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Victors smile grew wider and he gave her a long, passionate kiss. "We are going to be parents." he just couldn't believe what he just heard. "We… are going… to be… parents!" Anita laughed and Victor smiled. "This is the best day in my life, together with our wedding day."

Anita smiled. "I'm so glad that you like it." she whispered.

"We are both ready to be parents, that's the most important thing at this moment." Victor whispered back and he hold her closer to his chest. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Anita smiled and she gave him a kiss on his cheek. "And I wouldn't know what I would do without you."


	2. Chapter 2

_I can't believe that he forgot it!_

Anita looked to her telephone. She was sitting in her chair, waiting for Victor. He should be home by now, so they could go to the doctor together. Their first visit together, because Anita was more or less afraid to go alone. She was afraid that she would hear some bad news and she wanted someone who could support her.

_He gets just one chance to get here immediately, before, before…_

Anita started to sob. This couldn't be happening. Not now, not while they had this wonderful future together. They never had a fight, but if he would continue with this kind of behaviour, there would be a fight soon.

Suddenly, the door went open and Anita looked up. Mildred walked into the room and she looked surprised when she noticed Anita there. "Anita, what's going on?"

"Victor and I…" Anita started and she began to sob again. "We… we were supposed to go to the doctor and …"

Mildred knelt down to Anita's level. "Honey, I know he will be here soon." She looked to the clock. "At what time is your appointment?"

"Within an hour." said Anita. "But it's thirty minutes away from here and I wanted to be there on time."

Mildred sighed. "Why don't we wait a couple of minutes, and otherwise I'll go with you. Maybe he's busy with an experiment." She looked into Anita's eyes. "I'll make you some tea and we'll wait together for him."

Anita just nodded. She looked away from Mildred and whispered: "He promised it."

Mildred just stood up and she walked to the kitchen. _It isn't something for Victor to forget something of this importance_, she thought. She poured some water into the kettle and she grabbed her cell phone. There was no way she would let Anita go without Victor. She dialled his number and she waited for him to pick up. But there was no answer. Mildred sighed. To her, this was all she could do for Anita.

"Mildred," sounded from the living room and Mildred rushed to Anita.

"What is it, Anita?" Mildred looked to Anita. She looked pale and it looked like she just saw a ghost.

"I… I thought I just saw Victor. He passed our house with…" The tears appeared in her eyes again. "He was there with an other woman."

Mildred shook her head. "Victor wouldn't do that, Anita." she said and she helped Anita up to her feet. "He wouldn't leave you, just because you're pregnant. He would stay with you, I know that for sure."

Anita looked to her mother-in-law. "Maybe Victor isn't that kind of guy. Maybe he hates it to get a child together with me."

Mildred pulled Anita into a hug. "I know Victor, honey. And I know that he couldn't wait to get children together with you." Mildred let Anita go again and she looked into Anita's eyes. "Besides, you told me that he was even more caring than ever before."

"I know that I told you that, but what if it's just all a trick? That he'd rather have a woman who isn't pregnant?"

Mildred shook her head and she walked to the kitchen again. She knew Victor wouldn't do something like that. She decided to call him one more time, to see if he would pick up now. But there was still no answer. She made some tea for Anita and herself and walked back into the living room. "Here you go, dear." she said and she gave Anita a cup of tea.

Anita took it and they drank their tea in silence, hoping that Victor would be home soon. But soon enough, it was time to leave. "Let's go, Mildred." Anita whispered. "I don't think that he will come home soon."

Mildred just nodded and she walked together with Anita to the car. This didn't make any sense. Why would Victor forget this appointment, while it was so important to Anita? Mildred sighed and she stepped into the car, hoping that Anita was wrong about Victor having a girlfriend.

"Mrs. Volt, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Ray was surprised to see Mildred walking through the U.Z.Z. building. Mildred never came into the building, unless it was very important.

"There is just one thing I need to know, where is Victor?" said Mildred. She was furious that Victor wasn't there for Anita to support her. Luckily for all of them, the baby was alright, so Anita didn't have to hear some terrible news. At least, not yet. If Victor would cause any more stress, Anita could get a miscarriage. Well, that was what they used to tell you when you were pregnant.

Ray shook his head. "You know as well as I do, that I can't tell you all the information about the missions."

Mildred looked surprised to Ray. "What do you mean? Where is Victor?"

"He's at the Antarctic. Counting polar bears."

"Why would he be counting…?"

"Professor Professor wanted to know how many polar bears are there and it was a good opportunity for his new partner to learn all about this work."

"Where is Professor Professor?" said Mildred and she looked at Ray. "I can tell you right now how many polar bears there are at the Antarctic. None, because they all live at the Arctic."

Ray's eyes went big. "Then there has to be an impostor around here! I'm going to look for Professor Professor. I'm sorry, Mildred, but I have to ask you to leave."

It almost seemed to Mildred that Ray literary pushed her towards the exit. Mildred shook her head when she was back outside. She waited for a few moments, but she didn't hear any alarm. Or the new alarm is quiet enough to not be heard outside, or there is something fishy going on.

Victor walked into his house. It was a long day today, and the only things he wanted was a nice, hot shower and a sweet wife that was already asleep. He felt terrible to miss the appointment, but he told himself that he would never do that again.

"Where have you been?" suddenly sounded from the living room.

"Anita? I thought you were already asleep." said Victor when he walked into the living room. "I thought you told me that you were going to go to bed early, because of the baby."

"I couldn't sleep." said Anita and she stood up. "You left me alone when I needed you the most."

Victor's eyes widened. "Is there something wrong with the baby?" he said. He couldn't believe that he left Anita alone when she needed him the most.

Anita shook her head and Victor was happy that the baby was fine. "The baby is alright, but I thought you told me that you were going to be with me during my first appointment!" she couldn't feel angrier that day then she felt that night.

He walked towards her. "I'm really sorry about that Anita." he said and he wrapped his arms around her. "I didn't want to let you go all on your own, but I had a mission in…" Victor shook his head. "I just should have told them that I couldn't go. Important or not, I should have been there for you when you needed me."

Anita smiled a little bit. "I'm glad to hear that. Only…"

"Only what?"

"Mildred told me that Ray told her that you have a new partner." Anita looked to Victor. "Why do you have a new partner?"

"Because you will be stuck here back home for some time. And I needed someone to work with," he saw her worried look, "and when you come back, you will be my partner again."

"Who is it?"

"Her name is Blanche, and she is a few years younger than me." Victor looked to Anita. "But don't you forget that I love you more than anyone else."

Anita nodded. "I won't." she said, but her heart thought differently…


	3. Chapter 3

Anita looked to her candles. They were still burning, but it wouldn't take long before they would be completely burned out.

She stood up and took her plate with her. It was the second time that week that Victor didn't come home for dinner. It was the sixth time in two months that he forgot to tell her.

Anita now knew how it would feel for the husbands and wives of the U.Z.Z. agents.

And when he was at home during dinner, he told her everything about Blanche and their missions. Of course, she shouldn't mind it so much, but she had the feeling that he didn't always tell her everything that happened that day. Everything that he did with Blanche.

But that wasn't the worst thing. Anita walked into the kitchen and she threw the rest of her dinner away. While she was washing her plate, she looked to her wedding-ring. It was their anniversary; their fourth anniversary. She couldn't believe it that just on their happiest day of their life, he wouldn't be there with her for dinner.

She let out a sigh. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Anita placed her hand on her stomach. She was four months pregnant and she already started to show some signs of pregnancy. Of course, there was this terrible sickness, but that started to wear off.

But she also started to show that she was pregnant. Her stomach started to swell and it wouldn't take long before she had to buy some pregnancy clothes.

The terrible downside of it now was the living home and doing almost nothing. She got some paperworks from work, but it was still not the same as her actual work.

Anita walked upstairs. The first rooms she passed were the guest rooms. It wouldn't take too long before they would turn one of the rooms into a baby room. Victor already promised her that he would be there with her when they would do that.

She tried to swallow her tears away. He would help her, if he didn't have to go to a far away mission. The more she thought about it, the more it became something completely different. _What if he isn't on a mission, but what if he was cheating... _That was too much for the poor woman. She rushed to her bed room, grabbed some important things and decided to sleep in the guest bedroom for a couple of nights. She didn't want to sleep in the same bed, or even in the same room with a cheating husband.

Victor yawned. It was after midnight once he walked through the front door. In his hands were some red roses and a little present.

How much he had pleaded not to send him on a mission, they did sent him to a mission any way. And it wasn't a small mission either.

Through the whole mission, he couldn't call her to let her know that he would miss their fourth anniversary. He had hoped that he would be home for supper, but it took him more than six hours after dinnertime before he would be finished with the mission.

He walked upstairs, not knowing whether to hope that she was asleep or to hope that she was still awake.

As he walked into their bedroom, he blinked with his eyes. _Where's Anita?_ he thought as he walked to their bed. The bed was made up and there was no-one in it.

Victor turned on the light and he saw that her spot was empty. As soon as he saw that, his mind started to go on full speed. _Where can she be? She can't be outside, she has to be somewhere..._

He rushed out their room and rushed downstairs. _Maybe she's with Mom,_ he thought and he grabbed his telephone. He dialled his mother's number and waited for her to pick up. "Mom, it's Victor." he said as his mother picked up her phone.

"Victor? It's past midnight! Why are you..."

"Have you..."

Mildred interrupted him before he could say anything. "Oh, my, is Anita alright? Is it the baby?"

Victor looked up in surprise. "Isn't she with you?" he said. _Where can she be?_

"Why would she be with me? It's your anniversary."

"Yes, I know that, but I just got home and Anita is no-where to be found." Victor started to panic. If she wasn't with his mother, where could she be? All of her friends are U.Z.Z. agents and as far as he knew, Anita didn't have other friends.

"Did you check the spare bedrooms?"

Victor's eyes grew big. "No, I didn't." he said and he said goodbye to his mother. He truly hoped that Anita wasn't too mad at him. He rushed back upstairs and he opened one of the guest rooms. That one was empty, so he tried the other one. But that one was locked. "Oh crap." Anita was really mad at him. "Anita," he said as he softly banged on the door, "Anita, are you awake?"

"Go away, Victor." was the only thing he heard, and somehow, he felt a lot better. Even though she was still mad, she was home and safe.

"I'm truly sorry that I didn't show up." said Victor and he looked to the closed door. "I wanted to call you, but I never got the chance to call you." he swallowed his tears away. This wasn't the time to get emotional. His marriage was on a wobbly edge, but he shouldn't push it further. "I'll see you in the morning, Anita."

He walked to the master bedroom and he looked out of the window. They never had a fight. Every argue ended in a kiss and a laugh. But this was serious. And he had no idea what he should have done and shouldn't have done in the past. He just hoped that the future would be much better.

She didn't sleep the whole night. And when she did, she couldn't stop thinking about Victor being with an other woman.

The next day, Anita waited until Victor went to work once again. She didn't want to see him, not for a little while. She walked down to the living room. It was actually the first time that they slept separately since their wedding and it didn't make things better.

As she sat down onto her chair, she noticed the red roses in the vase. Onto one of the roses was little note. Anita grabbed the note and started to read it:

_Dear Anita, _

_I'm sorry that I've missed our anniversary. _

_I tried to get the day off, but they wouldn't let me. _

_Let me make it up to you, please._

_Your loving husband,_

_Victor Volt._

Then, Anita noticed the little present. She opened it and inside the box was a necklace with a locket. Out of curiosity, Anita opened the locket. When she saw what was inside the locket, she had to swallow her tears away.

At one side, there was the first picture which showed them being in love. It was at the New Years Party of U.Z.Z. At New Year's Eve, Victor and Anita told each other that they loved one and the other.

At the other side was the very first picture of their baby. It was still blurry and you could barely see that it was a human being, but you could see at least something.

While she placed the necklace around her neck, her mind started to battle. The battle was between her own heart and her own husband. The prize was her trust.


	4. Chapter 4

This wasn't the way she wanted to live for the rest of her life. Hoping that her own husband wasn't cheating on her while she was pregnant.

Anita looked out of the window. She was standing in an empty room. It was the room that she and her husband would turn into a baby room that day. They had cleaned the room a few days before, so they would be able to start painting the room as soon as Victor would come home.

But Victor was nowhere near. Instead, he was somewhere in some rainforest, doing something. That was all she could understand from it. She had to call Ray, because Victor's telephone was gone. And all Ray said was that Victor and Blanche had a mission in one of the rainforests somewhere.

"He told me so many times that he would be there for me when I would need him." she whispered to herself. "But when I need him the most, he's away for some mission." It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last time that something like this would happen during her pregnancy.

Those thoughts were more than she could take. Anita walked out of the room and went downstairs. _I need some fresh air…_

* * *

Victor walked into his house. He knew that he promised Anita to be home a few hours earlier, but because of a last minute mission, it was just an hour earlier that he got home. He hated it, but at least he was finally home.

"Hi, Anita, I'm home!" he said as he took off his coat. Even though it was already April, it was still cold and chilly outside.

Victor couldn't wait to start with the baby room. They had picked the colours and the furniture for the room and now it was time to make it ready for the baby.

But first, some tea. He figured that he deserved some nice cup of tea after a long mission. It wasn't as difficult as a fight with the Impostors or something like that, but it was still a long mission. "Anita? Are you there?" he called once again. _Maybe she's asleep_, he thought, after he didn't get an answer. The past few weeks, Anita had been very tired and she needed a lot of sleep every day.

Victor walked to the living room and he sat down onto the couch. At a small table, next to the couch, was a little photograph. The picture was taken at their wedding day, it was their first kiss as husband and wife and Victor loved the picture. It truly showed their love for each other, which they still felt.

He sighed. He could still feel the love between them, but since a couple of weeks, he wasn't sure if Anita felt the same thing too. There were times that he could feel some kind of distance between the two of them. But Victor knew that they were so in love, so it would be alright.

Victor stood up once again. "No time to waste, Victor." he said to himself. "You were already a few hours too late, so you don't want to let your wife wait longer." he walked upstairs and before he would go into the spare room, he went to the master bedroom. "Anita, time to wake up." he said once he had opened the door. He looked around him, but Anita was no-where to be seen. "Oh no, not again." he groaned and he walked to the spare bedroom. "Anita, I'm sorry I'm late but it took me a little bit longer than I had hoped for." he said before he opened the door. But Anita wasn't in that room either.

Being in panic, hoping that nothing bad had happened to his dear wife, Victor rushed downstairs. He grabbed his telephone and dialled Mildred's number. "Mom, is Anita there with you?"

"No, I haven't seen her for a day or two now. Why?"

"We were going to paint and decorate the baby room. But she isn't home."

"Maybe she is just outside, taking a walk or something like that."

Victor's mind started to rush. That could be the possibility and it would mean that Anita would have taken her telephone with her. Victor said goodbye to his mother and he dialled Anita's number. But when she didn't answer it, he started to fear the worst. He tried to reach her a few times, but there was no answer. When he tried it for the fourth time, he heard some noise coming from the baby room. Victor rushed upstairs and saw Anita's telephone lying there. This couldn't be good.

Not knowing what to do, he dialled Ray's number. "Special agent Ray here." sounded at the other side of the line.

"Ray, it's Victor. Listen, I have a problem. Anita is gone and I have no idea where she could be."

"Before we are going to send out a search party; did you check every of her favourite places?"

"No, but she left her telephone at home and she would never do that if she would go outside."

A sigh sounded from the other side. "Alright, I'll send some agents to look out for her. Let me know when she is back."

Ray hung up and Victor sighed. He truly hoped that Anita would come back soon; that there would be nothing he should be worrying about.

* * *

While Victor was wondering where Anita could be, the pregnant woman was already six blocks away from her home and she wasn't thinking about heading back soon. She had no idea what to do. She still loved Victor, but she had no idea if Victor still loved her.

She noticed a black car, which started to drive at her speed. One of the windows lowered. "It's been some time, hasn't it?" sounded from the car and Anita looked up.

"Yes, indeed." she said.

"What do you say about a little ride?"

Anita started to think. Maybe it would be better for both her and Victor to be apart for some time. She would call him later about it. "Sure, why not?" she said and she stepped into the car.

"It's always great to meet an old friend." was the last thing her old friend said before they left.


	5. Chapter 5

Victor came to his work. He didn't sleep well, since Anita didn't come home last night. He felt horrible; he had no idea who could have taken Anita or why someone would take her. There was no note, no phone call, just completely nothing from the kidnapper.

He had taken his sky-bike and flew through the city. If Anita was just mad, and he couldn't really see why she would be mad, he would have seen her somewhere. He went to her favourite spots, but she wasn't there either and no-one had seen her that day.

"Bonjour, Victor!"

Victor turned around when he heard that familiar voice. A pitch-dark haired woman walked up to him. "Hello, Blanche." he said as his partner approached him.

Blanche took one look at him and knew that there was something going on. "What's wrong, Victor?" she asked. As a former agent of the French Secret Service, she knew when someone was hiding something.

"Anita didn't come home last night." said Victor and he looked to his partner. "Do you think we will be able to…"

"You know that today is the day, don't you?" said Blanche and Victor nodded. "So you know that we are not able to go and look for your wife." Suddenly, their telephones started to ring. "Come on, the chief needs us."

The two secret agents rushed to the briefing room and they sat down onto a chair. "Ah, good morning, agent Volt and agent Desrosiers. As you know, for reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today, you will call me…" his telephone beeped and the chief took it out of his pocket. "Oh, Couthy Benthos."

While Victor laughed, Blanche looked to her partner. She didn't quite get the humour of all those names. "What does it mean?"

"You don't want to know." sighed Couthy Benthos. "Anyways, as you know, today is the day. So I want you to be prepared for this afternoon. You are dismissed."

Both Victor and Blanche walked out of the room. They walked towards the practice room. But not to practice some fighting moves; they were there to get ready for that afternoon.

Their mission was to go disguised as a rich couple to an auction.

"Victor, did you tell Anita about the mission?" asked Blanche when she sat behind the make-up table.

Victor shook his head. "It's classified, so I couldn't discuss it with her." He looked to his mirror image. He felt terrible that he couldn't tell her where he had been when he and Blanche worked on this mission. "I really wanted to introduce you to her. She would really like you."

Blanche smiled and she looked to all the make-up. She wasn't really a make-up girl, but she had to, so she would look like a rich woman who was there to buy something. And, to make it worse, there would be lots of criminals hanging around there. She was sent from Paris to go to London when her subject moved to the United Kingdom. Her subject was a very good arts thief and he sold the pieces via the art auctions, which were held in secret.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Victor and he looked to his partner as he placed a wig on his head. It was a black wig, so if there would be any archenemies from U.Z.Z., they wouldn't recognize him.

"About the mission. After this afternoon, my mission of many years will be over." Blanche couldn't believe it yet. She didn't know what would happen after that. Somehow, she felt needy here. Victor was a wonderful partner and she had lots of fun with him. "Do you think I would be able to stay here after this mission is over?"

Victor smiled. "You know, I wouldn't mind that. I could use a partner now Anita is on a maternity leave."

"Good." said Blanche. It would be wonderful if she could stay in England for some time longer.

* * *

A couple walked through the streets of London. They looked like an ordinary, somewhat wealthy couple. The only difference was that they walked through the darkest part of London, which was full of evil and dark figures.

They stopped in front of a big, dark auction house. Two shady looking men were standing in front of the door, making sure that no uninvited guests would come inside. The couple showed them their invitations and the men nodded. "Welcome, Mr and Mrs Avery." they opened the door and the couple went inside.

The couple gave their coats to one of the servants and they looked for a place to sit. Once they had a seat, the couple looked to each other. "Do you see anyone familiar?" whispered Victor and he looked to Blanche.

Blanche shook her head. "No, as far as I can tell, there are only British villains here."

"And you don't see him either?"

Blanche looked around her. "Non, je ne vois pas le voleur de la Seine." When she saw Victor's confused face, she gave him an apologizing smile. "I'm sorry, but I got used to the fact that I say it like that when people ask me that question. But no, I can't see 'Le Voleur de la Seine'.

Her subject got that name, because he had only robbed art from museums which were located near the Seine.

"It's okay." said Victor and he looked to the auctioneer. "It looks like they want to start soon."

Blanche nodded and she looked to the list she got in her hands. On that list were the things they were going to auction that afternoon. "It looks like we will have to wait for a little while. Our piece of interest is number eighty-nine."

Victor groaned. He hated to just sit and wait. He wanted to go back to the daylight and to try to find Anita soon.

"I know you want to go back, but we have to stay." whispered Blanche as more and more people sat down onto a chair. Blanche was curious who would come and buy the piece she was after. She hoped that they could catch 'Le Voleur de la Seine' today. One of the unwritten laws of the underground auctions was that the 'owner' of the piece should stay at the auction too. So they would be absolutely sure that everything was alright and that the money would be transferred to the 'owner'. The auctioneer didn't have a horrible job either. He would get twenty percent of the money, which was ten more than normal.

The auction started and Blanche noticed some of the other pieces which were also stolen from the Louvre. But she wasn't after those ones, she was after just one piece.

"Why are we after number eighty-nine?" asked Victor when there was a little break. They were almost alone in the auction room. Most went out for a little smoke or went away with their newest acquisition.

"Because, 'La Belle Ferronnière' was the only one we were able to trace, until it went on the boat to the UK." After a few series of robberies, the museum agreed with the tracing methods of the French Secret Service. And it went well, but they still didn't know who stole it and they lost it when it was shipped towards Dover. A bell rang and people got back into the room.

After an hour or maybe two, number eighty-nine was finally getting flogged. The numbers went high into the thousands. The auction stopped at thirty-five-thousand pounds. "That's a lot." whispered Victor to Blanche. "Do you see who the lucky winner is?"

"Number twenty-three. It looks like he has done this before." Blanche looked to the old-looking man. "Is U.Z.Z. standing by?"

Victor nodded. U.Z.Z. was listening with them and they had the building surrounded. It was up to Blanche and Victor to give them the right signals of the persons they were looking for. The auction didn't last much longer and Victor and Blanche stayed long enough until they had seen the buyer and the previous 'owner'.

U.Z.Z. rushed into the building and less than fifteen minutes later, Blanche and Victor were standing outside. Ray had handed them a cup of tea. "The two of you did a good job." he said and he looked to the two secret agents. "The two of you get the week off."

"That's great to hear, Ray." said Blanche and she looked to Victor. "Shall I help you?"

"With what…?" Then, it hit him again. His wife was still missing. "Yes, please. I think I could use some help."

Blanche smiled. "And if you need any help with something else, just call me. We are partners now after all." There was no rush to go back to France for Blanche. The Eiffel tower had flown away before, but that didn't mean that it would fly away soon.

"Ah, Victor, I was looking for you." a Bavarian voice said and the small professor walked up to the agents. "First of all, good of you to stay alive, because I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" asked Victor and he looked to professor Professor. "And about what?"

"About Anita. We…"

"Have you found her? Where is she? Is she alright?" Victor grabbed the scientist and he looked at him. He was hoping that Anita was just healthy and back home.

"Calm down, Victor. No we haven't found her." said the professor and Victor placed professor Professor down. "But does she still wear a headband nowadays?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because there is a GPS-system in her headband. I found a possibility to track her."

Victor's eyes grew. This was the best news he had heard all day. "So, where is she?"

"She is…"


	6. Chapter 6

Anita walked around through the enormous house. It was indeed some time since she was there for the last time. Several years to be exact. She hadn't been there since she and Victor were engaged. Because there was no need to go there.

But she was back now and she wasn't really planning on going to home now. A door opened and she turned around. Behind her was the man who had brought her into the house. "How are you, my dearest Anita?" asked the Italian sculptor as he saw his guest.

"I've felt better." whispered Anita as she looked to Alphonse. She had told him everything. About her marriage with Victor, how she felt that he was cheating on her and about her pregnancy. Of course, Alphonse had still some contacts at U.Z.Z., so he knew what was going on there most of the time.

"Don't you worry. Here in Italy, you don't have to think about your cheating husband or to worry about your child or even the money. You can stay here as long as you want and the baby is welcome here too."

Anita didn't know what to think or say. Alphonse disappeared again and Anita walked towards her room. The day before, Alphonse had stopped especially for her. He was in London to visit his exhibition and he just drove in her neighborhood. And once they started talking about the old times they had together, it didn't take long before the sleep had caught her. She was tired of all those endless and sleepless nights and she just fell asleep in the car. When she woke up, she was already in the plane to Italy. Alphonse said that she told him to take her with him to Italy, to be away from Victor and U.Z.Z. for some time.

But Anita didn't want her child to grow up in Italy. Cheating or not, Victor did have the right to see his child at least once in his life. And Anita was sure that Victor should get the chance to explain what was happening. But, not now. Her heart and mind were still in a battle. Her mind knew that cheating was the only reason why Victor wasn't available most of the time. But her heart knew Victor couldn't cheat on her.

She went into the room. It was painted purple and it had even a small cradle, in case if she would be there when the baby was born. Anita walked towards her bed. The night before, Alphonse had shown her a picture. The picture was lying on her bed and Anita picked it up. It wasn't just any picture, it was a picture of Victor and an unknown woman. They weren't dressed for work, it looked like they were about to go out to somewhere. Somewhere you could dance, drink and do whatever you wanted to. Anita had called it many names, she had been cursing all night, but that wasn't going to change a bit to the situation she was in now. If she was going to agree with Alphonse's conditions, she would be trapped into this giant house. But she wanted to be free. To go out with her child and to do some shopping if she wanted to. But if she was going to go back, she was back in a relationship where she wasn't sure about her husband's love.

Anita threw the picture into the bin and she looked out of the window. It was already dark, but she had no idea what time it was. She heard the doorbell and the door being opened. Alphonse was talking to the person or persons who were at the door and he even let him, her or them in. Anita shook her head. Whoever it was, they weren't going to be there for long. Alphonse wasn't really keen on guests who arrived uninvited. He wanted everything to be like he wanted it to be before he could let anyone into the house.

She could hear some footsteps through the hallways. Apparently, someone was looking for something. Probable the bathroom or something like that. But, suddenly, someone opened the door. A pitch-dark haired woman with bright green eyes walked into her room. Anita's heart stood still. Her blood stopped pumping and her body felt cold. It was like an ice-cold wind blew through the room. "You..." said Anita. It wasn't a warming welcome and the lady didn't expect that either. "You!" she said once again and she walked towards the woman. "You are the mistress of my husband! Why are you here?"

Anita was furious, there was no doubt about that. And Blanche could understand it, somehow. When Victor told his partner that he never told Anita anything about her, Blanche had it figured out. The only reason why Anita was in Italy, was because she was with her old friend, Alphonse. A friend Victor wasn't really fond off. He told Blanche that Alphonse had tried to break Victor and Anita's relationship, but he never succeed... Until now. "Listen, Anita... I am no-one mistress. Because I'm not seeing anyone at the moment."

"You have a relationship with my husband!"

Blanche gave Anita a little smile and she walked closer to the pregnant woman. "Believe me, Victor is a sweetheart, but he isn't my type." Anita walked backwards as Blanche approached her. Soon, Anita's back was against the wall. Blanche moved even closer to her.

"What are you..."

"Just making a point." whispered Blanche and she moved her face close to Anita's face. So close, that their lips almost touched.

"What? So you..."

"Yes, I love women." said Blanche with a big smile. She gave Anita a kiss on her cheek. "So, Victor and I don't have a relationship, it wouldn't be possible, actually. I just don't love him."

Anita nodded, she still needed to process it all. "But what are you doing here?"

"I am here with Victor. He wants you back home, back in London, where you are going to decorate the baby room." Blanche looked at Anita as she took a step back. "So, please, come back with us."

Anita nodded. She knew she wasn't going to be happy in Italy anyways. "Come, I know a different route, so Alphonse doesn't know that we are gone." Anita took Blanche with her and they got out of the house, just when Victor got out of the house as well. He managed to say to Alphonse that Blanche was already outside and he truly hoped Anita was with her.

And he couldn't be happier. He rushed towards the ladies and he stopped in front of Anita. "Anita." he whispered.

Anita opened her arms and Victor walked into her arms. They hugged and they kissed, everything seemed to be forgiven and forgotten. "I'm so sorry, Victor."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we really have to go now." said Blanche as she stepped onto her sky-bike.

Victor and Anita looked to each other and they stepped onto Victor's sky-bike and soon they were soaring through the sky. During the flight, Anita and Victor were silent, which gave Anita the opportunity to think about her relationship and marriage with Victor. She had to admit that even she had been away from Victor for just one day, she had missed him dearly. And she knew that she couldn't live without him. He gave her the freedom she needed and he was her rock in the ocean. And he would be the perfect father for their child.

The flight wasn't long and soon, Victor, Anita and even Blanche were at Victor's and Anita's house. "Are you really sure you want me here?" asked Blanche when she sat down onto the chair. She had the feeling Victor and Anita rather wanted to be alone now to talk about things.

Anita nodded and she sat down onto the couch. "I need to apologize to you and Victor. I've been acting..."

"It's alright, Anita." said Victor with a smile and he sat down next to Anita. "I should have told you the missions I had. I should have been honest to you." he gave Anita a kiss on her cheek. "But you could have trusted me, Anita."

"I know, Victor. I promise that I will trust you, for ever." Anita grabbed her necklace and showed it to Victor. "But, somehow, I've always trusted you."

Blanche smiled and she looked to the clock. "I really should be going now." she got up from her chair. "We can talk further tomorrow, that is..." and she looked to Victor, "if our date is still standing."

Anita looked to Victor. "What...?"

"Blanche wanted to help me with the baby room, so I figured I could use some help. Especially because you're pregnant. So, what do you think?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea, Victor. You defiantly can use some help."

"Alright, then it is a date. I'll see the two of you tomorrow around ten."

Victor and Anita looked at each other after Blanche had left them alone. "I wish I wasn't so foolish, Victor."

"Let's forget about it, Anita. All we are going to think about now is our future, together with our child." Victor wrapped his wife into his arms. "We let the past be the past and we will be only looking to the future."


End file.
